Paul Hindemith was born in Hanau Geramny
on November 16, 1895. He was the oldest of three children.
He was encouraged by his parents to explore music as a career. This
was not easy to pursue since he did not come from a wealthy family.
He began taking violin lessons at
the age of 9 and eventually went to the Hoch Conservatory in Frankfurt.
He was a very talented violin player and soon became proficient at many
others. When his father died in 1915 he played clarinet in cafes
to support his family.
He was a performer for many years
until the comming of the Nazi party to Germany. The Nazi party eventually
started to boycott Hindemith's music and forced him to move out of the
country if he was going to have his music published. He moved to
Switzerland with his wife in 1937 where he stayed for about 3 years.
In 1940 he visited the U.S. and
did a few concert tours. In 1946 he and his wife both became U.S.
citizens. He thn began to teach at such places as Buffalo, Cornell,
and Yale Universities. He was offered and accepted a permanant teaching
position at Yale and he stayed there until 1953.
In 1953 he moved back to Switzerland
with his wife where he stayed until his death in 1963.
